1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method and apparatus for feeding meat such as a material for coarsely ground sausages. Particularly, the invention relates to a method and apparatus for feeding meat by means of reciprocating pumps each having a feed cylinder suitable for sucking and delivering meat.
2. Prior Art
Heretofore, a reciprocating pump having a feed cylinder and a piston has been commonly used for feeding meat which is a material for coarsely ground sausages to be fed to sausage stuffing machines. The feed cylinder is suitable for sucking and delivering meat. The piston is received in the cylinder for reciprocating movement and functions to suck meat into the feed cylinder and deliver it from the feed cylinder. The meat is fed from the feed cylinder to the sausage stuffing machines, which fills the meat into sausage casings.
In this type of sausage stuffing machines, to ensure reliable filling of meat into casings, the pressure on the meat in the stuffing machine must be maintained constant at all times. However, it has heretofore been difficult to maintain the pressure on the meat at a constant level all the time because of the characteristics of the reciprocating pump. During the delivery stroke of the reciprocating pump, meat can be delivered from the feed cylinder to maintain the pressure on the meat in the stuffing machine at a constant level all the time. However, during the suction stroke of the reciprocating pump, the meat is not fed to the stuffing machine, so that a decrease in the pressure on the meat cannot be avoided. Thus, reliable filling of meat from the stuffing machine into casings has not been accomplished.